


A Promise Made is a Promise Kept

by soprano_buddy15



Series: Peace After Battle [8]
Category: The Last Kingdom, The Last Kingdom (TV), The Warrior Chronicles | The Saxon Stories - Bernard Cornwell
Genre: Aunt Eadith, Big Sad (Again), Sihtric's Daughter, The crew is old in this, Uncle Finan, Whump, Wounds, i love them all so much, lots of blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24784606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soprano_buddy15/pseuds/soprano_buddy15
Summary: Sihtric is wounded during an ambush, and his daughter is unsure whether or not he will survive.
Relationships: Eadith/Finan (The Last Kingdom), Ealhswith/Sihtric (The Last Kingdom)
Series: Peace After Battle [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736485
Comments: 11
Kudos: 35





	A Promise Made is a Promise Kept

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Java_Blythe_Peralta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Java_Blythe_Peralta/gifts).



> Heyo ya girl has a job!
> 
> So that also means that I will be slowing down with my posting. I definitely want to write, but it will probably be much less frequent. 
> 
> Anyway, this took me forever but I am actually really happy with it. I actually did search up to see I an axe can cut through leather, and yes, if it is swung a certain way and with enough force, it does work. It would probably be a killing blow though. 
> 
> Also, I listened to incredibly different music every time I took a crack at this. Does anybody else listen to Godspell when writing about vikings? Because that was the last half of this fic. 
> 
> Bless Java_Blythe_Peralta for her unending patience as I kept talking about the fic I was currently writing and saying that it was going up everyday I worked on it. I started this like 5 days ago. 
> 
> Also, if anyone has any suggestions for a fic, please let me know in the comments! I'm really open to anything and am running out of ideas. 
> 
> Constructive comments are always welcome! Just don’t be rude, because nobody wants that.

“Ealfled! I need water from the well.” Ealfled rolled her eyes as her mother called from inside their house. “Ealfled!”

“Yes, I’m going.” Ealfled pulled herself up from sitting on the front deck. It was just her younger brother and her mother in Coccham at the moment, and Steffen was busy caring for Uhtred’s goats. He was ten now, and her father had made a deal saying that in exchange for tending the goats he would teach him sword-skill. Her father was hesitant about teaching Steffen the skill; he had been quite sick as a child and was always very small and prone to illness. He enjoyed caring for the goats thought, and had not had a bout of sickness for a few winters. 

She grabbed the wooden bucket from inside the door, desperately wishing she was taught sword-skill like her brothers were. Her brother Sihtric improved much since he began nearly seven years ago, and was now regularly heading out with Uhtred and his men. Her father had not kept everything from her; he had insisted that she at least be confident with her seax. He had commissioned the blacksmith to craft a small blade, and etched runes of protection into the handle before gifting it to her. 

Her hand brushed the blade at her side. She wore it everywhere, even in Coccham. 

When she reached the well, she lowered the bucket into the deep hole and drew the fresh water up. It was late in the evening, so thankfully she did not have to wait to pull up the water. She was tired of running errands for her mother and working in the fields. She was tired of her father and brother always riding off, her mother saving up to buy another bead to hopefully give to her father. 

She wished that they would return so Osferth could continue giving her reading lessons. Eadith could no longer spend the time with her, as she was busy with her own children when Finan was gone. Hild was always at the nunnery. 

She made her way back towards their house, trying not to slosh water over the side. She adored reading and writing, and Osferth let her choose the most interesting stories in Coccham’s library. The adventure was right in front of her, and she never had to worry about her family not coming back. 

“Ealfled! Ealfled!” She turned as she heard Steffen calling her name, he was running towards her, feet slipping in the mud. “Ealfled, they’re back!” 

“Oh, thank the gods,” she muttered, relief flooding through her. They had been gone longer than they had said they would be, and the tension in Coccham was rising daily. 

“Ealfled, wait!” Steffen grabbed her arm as he came up beside her. “It’s Da.”

Dread washed through her. “ _What?_ ”

Steffen was clenching his jaw, but tears were brimming in his eyes. “He came riding in with Finan.”

Water sloshed over their feet as the handle slipped from her hand, hitting the mud and splashing everywhere. “Go get Mother,” she whispered. “Now.”

Steffan gulped, but darted down the path to their house. “They took him to the hall!” He called over his shoulder. 

Somehow, Ealfled’s feet started moving and she barrelled around the corner of the path. The horses were still standing in the large yard, and she jumped to the side as a small army of Coccham’s soldiers galloped out of the gate, yelling and shouting.

Heart pounding, she ran to the open door of the hall, stopping short when she saw the trail of blood on the floor. _He had promised to come back._

“Sihtric?” She turned around in shock as her mother made her way across the courtyard. She watched as her mothers eyes went to the red on the floor and her face went white. “Sihtric!” She bolted into the hall.

Ealfled stumbled in after her mother. People were running this way and that, carrying pots of boiling water and clean linen. They had cleared one of the large tables in the middle of the hall, and in between people standing Ealfled could see the dark green of her fathers cuirass. It was covered in blood. 

Glancing around, she saw her brother Sihtric standing with his arms around their mother, streaks of blood on his face.

“Finan!” She squeaked when she saw the man move in front of her. He spun round, eyes wide as he took her in. He had taken his cuirass off, and some blood was splattered on his green tunic. 

“Ealfled,” he muttered, and then wrapped his arms around her. “Ealfled, I’m so sorry.”

“Nobody has told me anything,” she said shakily. Her voice was muffled against his shoulder. “Finan, is he-”

“No, he’s not dead.” Finan said firmly. “He just…” Finan shook his head. “I’ve never seen anyone get the better of him.”

More and more people were crowding around her father, and she could see Osferth trying to make enough room for him to work.

“Everybody out!” Uhtred finally yelled over the throngs of people. His eyes landed on her brother and her mother. “Somebody get Ealhswith some water, and a bucket for Young Sihtric.” Everybody froze. “Go!” He demanded.

Ealfled surged forward as the people moved away from her father. “Ealfled, wait-” She felt Finan’s fingers try to grasp her arm, but she ripped it away and stood behind Osferth, her hands on her face. 

Uhtred was swiftly untying her father’s cuirass, and slipped it over his head before dumping it beside his belt. Blood was dripping from the side of the table onto the floor.

Her father was still, his eyes closed, but with a sob of relief Ealfled could see his chest rise and fall slowly with breath. More blood was coating his temple, covering the silver beads in his hair. 

“What can I do?” Ealfled swallowed, but stood fast. “Tell me what I can do.”

“You don’t need to do anything,” Finan interrupted from behind her. “Ealfled, I’ll come find you-”

“No!” She said. “Please.”

Osferth glanced up at her, and there was sadness in his eyes. “Help me with his tunic.”

She pulled out her seax, placing it underneath the tunic that her mother had sewn for him. She clenched her jaw before slicing it. She remembered when her mother had brought home the fabric. They had gone to look at the merchants that had stopped by, and Ealfled remembered how her father had run his hands over the tightly woven fabric. Her mother had bought it immediately, claiming that he “kept spoiling his tunics with blood” and needed another one. But Ealfled saw the extra care that her mother had put into it, lining the sleeves with leather and putting ties up by the neckline. 

The blade cut through the tunic easily, and Ealfled winced as she pulled it away from his skin. A large gash was slashed across his chest, oozing blood. “What happened?” she whispered. Osferth just shook his head as he mopped up the blood around the wound, and sometimes her father would flinch as his wound was probed.

Uhtred glanced at her. He was dumping the used rags in water to clean them, wringing them out and setting them aside so that Osferth might used them again. Osferth was mopping up the wound, the rags soaking up the blood incredibly quickly. “We were ambushed on our way back,” Uhtred muttered. “They attacked Sihtric first. He was the first one on the side they attacked from.” Uhtred bit his lip, looking down at his hands. “He barely had time to draw his axe when one was slicing across his chest, cutting through his leather. It is an act of the gods that he is still alive.”

Ealfled sniffled, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. She gently cleaned the drying blood on her father’s side, and Osferth prepared the sharp bone needle and clean thread for suturing. 

“Are you alright there, Osferth?” Finan asked as Osferth hesitated.

Osferth chuckled, but it was dry and humourless. “I always counted on Sihtric to do any suturing. I suppose I should have paid more attention when he tried to teach me.”

“I can do it.”

Everyone glanced up at Ealfled in surprise. “I can do it,” she repeated. “Da taught me a few years ago.” 

Uhtred sighed and ran his hands over his head. “Ealfled-” he began.

“Just give that here.” She snatched the needle and thread out of Osferth’s hands, and took a deep breath before setting the needle at the skin. “Osferth, I’ll need to you clean up the blood that comes out. I need to see.”

He nodded, grabbing a clean cloth, and Ealfled exhaled deeply before pushing the needle through the skin.

She worked as quickly as she dared, keeping her eyes from her father’s face as he unconsciously winced. She tried not to think too much of what she was doing, believing she would vomit if she spoke. Finan and Uhtred kept him from moving too much, and she hurriedly cut the thread and tied it off.

“Well done, Ealfled.” Finan rubbed her back.

“We need to wrap it,” Osferth muttered, and he passed the bandages to Ealfled. “We’ll hold him up.”

Osferth and Finan grabbed her father’s arms and shoulders and hoisted him up, while Uhtred supported his head. Beads of sweat fell down his face, and a groan escaped his lips. She wrapped the bandage around his torso and they set him back down. 

“We’ll just need to watch for infection.” She muttered, and wiped her bloody hands on a wet rag. “My father had some herbs in his medicine chest at home that might help. 

Uhtred had turned and climbed the steps into his loft. “You are all welcome to stay here,” he called as he made his way down with a bundle of furs. “I’ll set up the next room.”

“Let me.” Ealfled had nearly forgotten that her mother and brother were still here, but Ealhswith took the furs from Uhtred and began laying them down in the next room.

Her brother came back just as Finan, Uhtred, and Osferth set her father down on the furs, wiping his hands on a dry cloth. “Ealfled,” he said, and took her in his arms. “Where’s Steffen?”

“I think he’s still at home,” she said, and Uhtred immediately stood and headed out of the hall.

Finan watched him go. “He feels guilty,” he said softly. “We were so close to Coccham that he didn’t send a scout up ahead. He believes it’s his fault.”

A flash of rage went through Ealfled, but it dissipated faster than she thought it would. She knew that the woods around Coccham were always relatively safe, the raiders terrified of Uhtred and his men. Uhtred could not have known. 

She glanced over to her parents, where her mother lay beside her father, holding his hand. “It’s not his fault,” she muttered. “We’ve always known that he might not return.”

Her father had been with Uhtred for years, even before her older brother had been born. He wasn’t a young man anymore; none of them were. There was grey hair at his temples and in his beard, and he tended to come home with more sprains then he used to. In a way, this had been a long time coming. 

It was hard though, to see your father on death’s door. Ealfled remembered thinking that her father was invincible as he told them stories of the battles he fought with Uhtred. She remembered her mother braiding another bead into her father’s hair when he returned, of how she would eagerly sit on his knee, holding him tightly, until he forced her to go to bed. 

Uhtred came back through the doors holding a new bucket of water, Steffen trailing in behind him. He started shaking when he caught sight of their father on the furs. Steffen ran to Young Sihtric, and grabbed hold of him tightly. 

“You are staying here tonight?” Uhtred asked, placing the water into a kettle and throwing down the dried herbs he had taken from their house.

Her mother sniffed and sat up, taking a cloth to wipe the beads of sweat from her father’s forehead. “I don’t want them to continue seeing him like this,” she whispered, and swallowed thickly as she brushed the hair out of his face. 

“They can come with me,” Finan stepped forward. “We have room enough - Fergus and Domhnall can share with Steffen, we have extra furs for Young Sihtric, and Ealfled can take Aethelstan’s room.” Ealhswith nodded in agreement.

“Wait, I want to stay with you and Da,” Ealfled objected, anxiety rising in her. “What if something happens-”

“I will find you if something changes,” Uhtred said immediately. His face softened. “Ealfled, you must rest.”

Her brother took her hand. “Ealfled, we do not help standing around and fretting.” Sihtric did look exhausted; he had bags under his eyes and what looked like a large bruise forming on his arm. Steffen looked dead on his feet. Slowly, she nodded. 

Sihtric had picked up Steffen, his hard work as one of Uhtred’s warriors making him strong. Steffen was small for his age, but was still a ten year old child and was resting his head on Sihtric’s shoulder. 

“C’mon.” Finan gently pushed them out of the door. Ealfled followed numbly, letting Finan lead the way to his house. He and Eadith had lived there for many years, building on to the house when their twins were born. Ealfled had spent many days there with her mother and Eadith, gossiping when her father and Finan were away while teaching Ealfled to sew tunics and bake bread. Steffen and the twins were near the same age, and just as Aethelstan and Young Sihtric did, got themselves in unbelievable amounts of trouble. 

“Father!” Fergus and Domhnall were sitting on the front steps, and bounded up when they saw Finan. He knelt down and embraced them both, kissing their heads and speaking to them softly in Gaelic. Eadith was waiting at the door, and Ealfled felt a pang of sadness go through her as he gently kissed her and rested his forehead against hers for a moment, whispering to her. 

Ealfled was happy for him, truly, but she had seen this all too often when her own father returned to them. Only this time she didn’t. 

Eadith nodded and gently touched her husbands face. “Dinner is in the pot.” He kissed her on her forehead before heading into the house, Fergus and Domhnall scurrying in after him. Sihtric had set down Steffan and they followed in slowly. 

Eadith wrapped her arms around Ealfled, and she felt herself break. “It’s alright, my dear,” she said quietly. “Your father is strong and has survived much.” She leaned back and smiled softly. “But you won’t do any help by wearing yourself thin. I’ve baked fresh bread and we must hurry before they eat it all.”

Ealfled could not help but laugh softly through her tears. Wiping her face, she followed the woman through the door and sat down beside Finan at the table. 

Finan pushed a bowl of stew towards her. “Eat quickly if you want more,” he advised, as both of his boys had nearly cleaned out their bowls already. 

“Finan, where’s the bread?” Eadith was standing at the counter with the empty cloth that had held the fresh loaves. 

Finan stared. “I thought there was another loaf,” he said, and frowned as Fergus, Domhnall, and Steffen started giggling. “Oi,” he said, finally noticing the crumbs around their bowls. “I look away for a wee second.” He grumbled. 

Sihtric scraped out his bowl and took a long drink. “This was delicious, Eadith,” he said, and Ealfled nodded in agreement. “We can’t thank you enough.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Of course,” she said, finally taking a few bites from her own bowl. “You are our family.” 

Steffen yawned, and Finan took notice immediately. “To bed with you,” he instructed. “All of you.”

“Father, is Steffen staying with us? Sihtric and Ealfled too?” Fergus asked, and Domhnall nodded, eyes wide and his red hair bouncing around his face. 

“Aye, they are. So that means that you and Fergus are sharing a bed tonight with Steffen, but first set out the extra furs for Sihtric. Ealfled will be in Aethelstan’s room.” He gently nudged his boys. “Go on.”

They hurried to find the chest of extra furs as Sihtric stood and stretched. Finan clapped him on the back. “You did well, Sihtric,” Finan said, and shoved him off towards the boys’ room. “Now get some sleep.”

Eadith followed the boys into their room and Ealfled watched as she tucked them into the bed, bringing the furs up about to their neck and making sure that Sihtric was comfortable on the floor. 

A part of her was wondering how she got here. Just this morning she had woken up and was preparing herself to work in the fields and help her mother with her sewing. She glanced down at her hands, visualizing the blood on them as she pulled the needle through her father’s skin.

“Ealfled?” She blinked as Finan called her name, shocking her out of her stupor. “Are you okay?”

She gulped, but could not help the tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m not sure,” she whispered, and the tears fell down her cheeks. “I don’t know what’s happening.” 

Finan gathered her in his arms, and she let herself break down. She began to fully understand that her father was wounded and that he might not survive the night. 

He squeezed her gently, and Ealfled remembered all of the times that he and Eadith cared for them when Steffen was ill, her mother up night and day taking care of him while her father collected herbs and barks that might ease Steffen’s pain. 

“It’s hard seeing a parent suffer,” he said softly, just to her. “But take heart in knowing that Sihtric is an incredibly stubborn bastard, and will fight tooth and nail to be with his family.” He wiped a tear from her cheek. 

She took a deep breath, incredibly thankful that she had people like Finan and Eadith in her life. She had known Finan and Eadith for her entire life, finding in them a confidant whenever she needed to talk to someone. Her parents were there for her, but Eadith had become a friend in whom she could discuss things with when she needed someone other than her mother. Her and Finan would often go for walks, discussing anything they could think of. 

There were not many other girls in Coccham her own age, and while Aethelstan and Young Sihtric were kind to her, they often did the things that it was expected she would _not_ do. Once Aethelstan had returned to Winchester to study under Edward’s tutors, her brother had earned his place in Uhtred’s guard and went wherever he went. 

“Here,” Finan grabbed a mug and scooped something from the small pot into it. “Don’t tell your father,” he whispered, and Ealfled grinned as she drank the sweat mead. 

It burned down her throat and she coughed a bit, but Finan just smiled as he took the mug from her. “I’ll wake you up if anything changes,” he said, and she gave him one final hug before heading to Aethelstan’s room. 

“Goodnight Eadith,” she called, and closed the door when she heard her call back from their loft. 

Aethelstan’s room was small, but the bed was much longer than hers. Aethelstan was tall and gangly, seemingly all limbs, but she was excited as she could stretch out her legs properly now. 

She fell into the bed and pulled the furs over her, and closed her eyes as exhaustion claimed her. 

*****

“Oh, _good Jesus. _” Ealfled woke up to the sound of logs falling over and Finan cursing. She jumped as a crash echoed through house. “Agh-”__

__Blinking heavily, Ealfled sat up. By the looks of the sun, it was midday at least. The smell of rabbit reached her nose, and she inhaled the warm smell._ _

__Heading out of Aethelstan’s room, she encountered Finan attempting to maneuver in their kitchen, knocking over the log pile as he prepared vegetables to be added to the pot._ _

__“Are you alright?” She laughed, leaning against the doorframe._ _

__He glared at her. “Glad to know that you’re alive,” he said. “Now, I wouldn’t mind some help.”_ _

__She picked up a knife and deftly chopped the carrots in front of her. “Why was I not woken?” Eadith and the other boys were gone; it was just Finan and her in the house._ _

__“Because you needed it.” He said honestly, and placed the carrots into the pot. “Eadith has been with your mother all morning, and Young Sihtric is making sure the boys do their work.”_ _

__They sat in silence and ate when the stew was finished. It by no means was as good as Eadith’s, but she had heard enough horror stories from her father that showed how much Eadith had taught Finan in their marriage._ _

__A knock at the door drew their attention. “Finan?” It was Osferth. “Is Ealfled awake?”_ _

__“I am,” she called back, and worry settled in her stomach. Uhtred had said he would sent somebody if anything had changed._ _

__“Sihtric is awake.”_ _

__Finan jumped in shock as she bolted from the table and wrenched open the door. “He’s awake?” She said breathlessly._ _

__Osferth smiled softly and nodded. “I’m just on my way to find your brothers. He’s still in Uhtred’s hall.”_ _

__“Ealfled, just- slow down,” Finan implored as she hurried out of the door. He was still in the process of tying his belt around his waist, and bumped Osferth on the shoulder as he turned in the other direction._ _

__She groaned, and he made a face at her. “Okay, now we go.” Finan closed the door and they headed towards Uhtred’s hall._ _

__Uhtred was talking to some of the other residents outside of the hall when they approached. Catching his eye, he read the question in her eye and nodded his head towards the door._ _

__She was surprised at how loud it was in the hall. Her father was sitting up by the fire, a lightweight tunic covering his chest. She could see his bandages peaking out from under the neckline. Her mother was sitting beside him, holding his food for when he was ready to eat, and Eadith was sitting at the table, laughing and smiling with them both._ _

__Her father was still quite pale, and a bit of sweat was on his forehead, but he grinned at a snarky remark from Eadith and let out a low laugh._ _

__She stopped just past the doorway, hardly daring to take her eyes off of him. Finan moved past him to greet his best friend, smiling and clasping each others forearms. She saw her father ask a question, and Finan nodded before gesturing back towards her. Sihtric’s smile faltered slightly, but he nodded in what looked like agreement at Finan’s next words. He turned to look at her, and she swallowed thickly as he gestured her to come closer._ _

__Finan went to whisper in Eadith’s ear, and she nodded at his words, getting off the table and walking out of the hall with him._ _

__“You know I do not bite,” her father called to her and gestured again. “Ealfled, I wish to speak with you.”_ _

__Somehow her feet were moving and she walked to him, kneeling beside him. He took her hand in his, and she gasped slightly as he squeezed it. He was _here_ , and he was _strong_. “Finan told me that you are the one that stitched me up,” he said softly, looking at her intently. _ _

__She nodded, feeling a bit small. “Osferth was not feeling confident, and I remembered when you taught me all those years ago.”_ _

__He smiled at her, a little bit sad. “You should not have to stitch up your own father, though,” he whispered, and cupped her cheek in his hand. “I am sorry.”_ _

__She shook her head as more tears fell out. “I could not let you die, Da.”_ _

__“Hey,” he tapped her chin a little. “I promised to come back. I keep my promises.”_ _

__Fresh tears flowed down her face and she held onto his arm tightly._ _

__“Besides,” he said. “I needed to tell you how proud I am of you. Your sutures are very even. I doubt I could do better.”_ _

__Warmth flowed through her at his praise, and she leaned into his touch. She would never tire of being able to sit with her father when he was at home, and even though she could not hug him and talk together late into the night right now, she cherished this moment greatly._ _

__Soon enough though, Steffen burst through the doors and she had to prevent him from jumping on her father and ripping his sutures. Young Sihtric also had relief plastered on his face as he came over to them._ _

__Ealfled took a deep breath. Her father was a warrior. That came with risks. Every battle meant could be his last. But her father was a _warrior._ He was strong, and had survived countless battles. Her mother had explained to her that every scar meant that her father had survived. His wound would heal. He would have a scar, but he would live and continue to fight for his family. _ _

__She smiled as Steffen told their father about the goats, and enjoyed the warmth of the fire and her family around her._ _


End file.
